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Despite
advances in LGBT civil rights, many senior care providers never stop to
consider that their older clients may be lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender (LGBT) - and even those who do may not know how to provide
services in culturally-sensitive ways. As a result, LGBT seniors often
avoid seeking needed services out of fear of discrimination. The
tendency for LGBT seniors to go "back in the closet" is particularly
pronounced in situations where they are most vulnerable - such as when
accessing home health care or residing in assisted living or
residential care facilities. One study indicated that LGBT seniors may
be as much as five times less likely to access needed health and social
services because of their fear of discrimination from the very people
who should be helping them.
This
type of social isolation has an enormous impact in the health and
well-being of LGBT seniors. With LGBT seniors twice as likely to live
alone than heterosexual seniors, more than four times as likely to have
no children, the informal caregiving support we assume is in place for
older adults may not be there for LGBT elders.
SAGE's
Strategic Plan
SAGE
has adopted a new strategic plan that will guide SAGE's future as we
continue to grow in our ability to serve our LGBT elders and advocate
on their behalf. Read all about how SAGE will continue to provide
services, programs, advocacy and communications.
SAGE's
Ad Campaign In the fall of 2008, SAGE's launched
an ad campaign which took New York City by storm with the message that
there's no expiration date on a full and active life. SAGE ads appeared
in print media and in the public transportation system all over NYC.
These ads depict SAGE clients, social workers, donors and volunteers in
a vibrant light.
History and
Background
Programs
like SAGE become an important "safety net" for LGBT elders.
Incorporated by lesbian and gay activists and aging service
professionals in 1978 as Senior Action in a Gay Environment, SAGE (now
Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is the world's oldest and
largest non-profit agency addressing the needs of lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender elders. SAGE works with LGBT elders to
address and overcome the challenges of discrimination in senior service
settings, while also being an essential component in the creation of
informal caregiving support, and development of new "family" networks.
SAGE's programs include:
• The nation's first Friendly Visiting program for frail and homebound
LGBT seniors
• The country's first support group for LGBT seniors with HIV
• The nation's first program dedicated to caregiving services for LGBT
seniors.The nation's first LGBT Senior Drop-In Center,
• The creation of the first national conferences devoted to LGBT aging
concerns.
•
The only Robert Wood Johnson Foundation "Faith in Action" grantee (of
more than 2,000 nationwide) specifically targeting LGBT older people
for supportive services,
• The recipient of a three-year, $900,000
grant from the Department of Health and Human Services and the
Administration on Aging to create the nation's only national resource
center on LGBT aging.
Today, there are a growing number of
retirement communities, senior housing and other high-end housing
options targeting LGBT seniors. But for hundreds of thousands of LGBT
seniors who will be aging in place in their own communities, SAGE
programs and services provide the link they need to a safe and
welcoming community.
History of the LGBT Aging Project
The LGBT Aging Project was founded in 2001 by
a group of advocates from both the aging service network and the LGBT
community who recognized that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
elders are invisible to mainstream elder service providers and that
older LGBTs are invisible within LGBT community as well.
The LGBT Aging Project hosted a LGBT Aging Summit with over 100
agencies and activists which resulted in a written action plan that
outlined the goals of our work, ranging from training of mainstream
elder care providers to civil marriage rights and expanded social
activities for LGBT elders themselves.
In most cases our aim was to facilitate change in existing systems, not
provide direct services ourselves. We projected completion of most of
our work plan within three years. However we have exceeded this
timeline due to tremendous culture change and receptivity to LGBT
issues over the past few years.
The LGBT Aging Project’s work is focused in Massachusetts, but we are
also founding members of the National Roundtable on LGBT Aging, hosted
by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTF – The Task Force) which allows us to collaborate with colleagues
throughout the country and address national policy issues together.
Since its inception the Aging Project has collaborated with community
partners to conduct research among LGBT elders and mainstream
providers, engaged scores of LGBT elders themselves, provided training
to more than 2,000 people and increased public awareness of LGBT elders
and caregivers, and the issues that impact their lives. We are proud of
our pioneering and innovative work within both the mainstream and LGBT
communities.
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Walk to End Alzheimer's™
Make a difference in the lives of the 142,000 in Massachusetts and New
Hampshire residents with Alzheimer’s disease! The Alzheimer’s
Association, MA/NH Chapter is on the MOVE to raise over $2 million this
year for the fight against Alzheimer’s disease. Since 1989, we’ve
mobilized millions of Americans in the Alzheimer’s Association Memory
Walk®; now, we ask you to register for Walk to End Alzheimer’s™, the
nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care,
support and research. Since 1989, the Walk has raised more than $347
million nationally. The MA/NH Chapter will host 12 walks in 2011,
but walks are held in nearly 600 locations
nationwide. Last year’s MA/NH Walk raised over $1.9
million. There are many ways to get involved:
Start a Team
Start a Walk to End Alzheimer's™ Team by becoming a Team Captain to
recruit team members and motivate friends, family and coworkers to
donate to the cause.
Join a Team
Join an existing Walk to End Alzheimer's™ Team and help collect
donations from friends, family and coworkers.
Join as an Individual
Join as an individual participant and help collect donations from
friends, family and coworkers.
Can’t Attend a Walk? Become a “Virtual” Walker
Join as a virtual walker if you cannot attend a Walk near you. Collect
donations from family, friends and coworkers. Participate in spirit by
walking on your own without being present on Walk day.
http://alz.org/
FENWAY HEALTH:
The gift you make today could help
save a life tomorrow.
Health Care reform is a topic on everyone's minds these days. In
Massachusetts, we've taken the lead in developing the model the nation
is looking to for expanded access to health care and health insurance.
But despite the progress we've made, there are still thousands of
people who slip through the safety net each day and don't have coverage
for access to the health care they need and deserve.
At Fenway Health, it is at the core of our mission to make sure that NO
ONE goes without access to health care. Whether you are lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, straight, old, young, black, white, student,
retired, or anywhere in between, we take pride in serving anyone who
enters our door with honor and respect.
But because we still haven't achieved universal access to health care
for everyone, there is still work to be done. And we can't do it
without your support. Many people we serve each day don't have the
resources or the insurance to cover the cost of the care they so
desperately need. Your gifts to Fenway help us cast that safety net,
wide and far and make sure no one in our
community goes without high quality health care.
The gift you make today could help save a life tomorrow.
Make a gift using
this link:
http://www.fenwayhealth.org
David
Bohnett Foundation---check it out!!!
David Bohnett and the David Bohnett
Foundation are committed to improving society through social activism.We
pursue our mission by providing funding, state-of-the-art technology
and technical support to innovative organizations and institutions
that, in addition to meeting our funding guidelines, share our vision.www.bohnettfoundation.org
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